


Checks and Balances

by orphan_account



Series: mamma mia he's (accidentally) in love [1]
Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, Friends to Lovers, fake fake fall in love, the one where they fake date
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-29 21:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7699174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Hana decides to help Paul with his campaign by creating a  totally fake relationship, or at least it starts that way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Checks and Balances

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends!!  
> Thank you for checking out C+B I'm so grateful you gave it a chance.  
> This takes place directly after Hana and Paul's not so date, and sticks with the canon up until here. A lot of game dialogue was put into the story to make it a little more accurately placed within this alternate timeline, but that should just be for this chapter and not the rest.
> 
> Enjoy!!

It always began with a sinking feeling deep in her chest that dropped to her stomach.

 She sat at her normal seat, popping the plastic wrap around her fork before she could start eating. Jirard’s comments to her definitely took a little anxiety off her back, but she still found herself glancing at every entrance within the cafeteria, waiting for a certain grand entrance that would push her over the edge.

 A sigh escaped the poor girl’s lips and into her small bowl of noodles. She couldn’t keep living like this, especially if it would affect her friendship circles this drastically. Her mind couldn’t stop running through every bad scenario that this lunch alone could explode into, it was madness.

“Uh...things going well for you?” a voice suddenly broke Hana out of her trance as she turned to PBG’s expectant stare.

She titled her head to the side curiously for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what he was talkin- oh. _Oh. The radio show._

“I...am trying to put it behind me, I think,” her response was genuine, she truly was _trying_. Yet something about having PBG bring up the chaos that was a few days ago made her shift uncomfortably. There was no reason to think about what had estranged her friendship with Paul even more than she already was.

 The boy beside her is suddenly overtaken with a uncontainable laugh, his smile a bit goofy, “Oh, really?” However, he quickly cleared his throat and leaned a little more towards her, “I mean,  oh…. really?” PBG’s countenance became even more confusing at the sight of a soft small smile against Hana’s questioning glare. “Well, not that it makes me happy, but, _you know,_ ” he let out a nervous laugh. Did she know? “Uh, heh, anyway, I was kind of wondering whether if some point we could-”

“Hana!” a warm voice brightly intercepted the chestnut haired teen next to Hana. A look of surprise passed PBG’s face as he stared up above Hana at the boy who had gently placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders.

Hana quickly tore out of the boy’s embrace and spun around to meet his gaze. “Woah, intense!” he let out a curt yell of surprise.

 Paul then caught on to the fact that PBG was low key shooting a glare in his direction, but the president combated it with his signature grin, “Hey, PBG! Soccer going good?” Perhaps the founder of Normal Boots has turned on the president in favor of his opponent, after all, PBG and Jeff were incredibly close for rivals...

“...Yeah,” PBG shrugged and turned his attention down to his food.

Paul nodded absently, as if pretending not to have just totally zoned out. “Anyway, Hana, I was hoping I could talk to you privately about something,” it wasn’t a question.

 The smaller girl bit her bottom lip before shaking her head, “can it wait a minute? We were in the middle of a conversation.”

 Paul laughed  for a moment, the sound slowly dying out as he realized that she had really just rejected him. He didn't turn to look at PBG, but if he did, he would’ve seen the boy proudly smirking down at his plate. “Well,” the president stammered, trying to act casual and offering a wave of finger guns to the girl, “come find me when you have a moment, then.”

“Sorry about that,” Hana shyly laughed as she tucked a piece of rosy hair behind her ear, “once he gets an idea, he’s very impatient about it. Were you saying something before?”

 PBG’s face quickly flushes as he turns his attention back to her, “actually, yes. Can we talk somewhere private? I uh- think Jon’s at rehearsal right after this if you have a few minutes to come up to the dorm room.”

“Oh sure,” Hana speaks slowly, obviously realizing that this is something important to the teen, “lead the way.”

 The two disposed of the remains of their lunch and PBG led them down to his building, trying his best to make the conversation as less awkward as possible, though it ended up not so. Hana had been in his room before and silently took a seat at the desk’s swivel chair, trying not to look too expectantly as the boy who was just about pacing the floor.

“Alright, well, um,” he let out a sigh, “I'm just going to dive into this. Did I… look familiar to you, when we first met?”

That was honestly the last thing Hana expected to hear, her expression molded into her thinking face as she stared up at him, “I...hm… wait,” she took in a breath, “I think you did?”

 “Really?!” PBG didn’t mask his surprise and let out a quick gasp, his feet now planted in front of her. “So you’ll believe me when I tell you we’ve met before, right?” he laughed, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet.

 The brunette’s sudden excitement made Hana feel guilty at her core, she couldn’t exactly place him. Did she really remember anyone like him? “I’m...sorry,” this had to be a mistake, “I can’t exactly  remember.”  

 His face fell instantly as he let out a deep sigh, “it’s okay! It was a long time ago. Um, when you first showed up in class you looked like this girl I used to play with when I was little. We used to play video games and-”

 Something suddenly clicked on Hana’s mind and she reached out for his arm, “there was a little boy from my past, but I haven’t seen him since my family moved? Does that sound familiar? I can’t remember his name or his face...so if I am the little girl from your past-”

“Hana!” PBG laughed, suddenly changing the atmosphere with another mood shift, “I know you’re her! You were my best friend as a child. I know it’s you.” He was so confidant, it made Hana’s insides flip.

“Listen, PBG, I’m sorry but I-”

“Wait, call me by my real name,” his lungs took in a deep breath, “PeanutButterGamer.”

 As if a different light suddenly hit the boy in front of her, realization dawned on Hana and she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand before truly staring at the teenager. “Oh my gosh,” she mumbled, “Oh my gosh! I remember you, I remember now!”

PBG let out a joyful laugh, “you do?!”

“Yes!” Hana put a hand over her mouth, “oh my gosh, I remember you completely! You’re so different!”

 “So are you!” the lopsided grin on his face said it all as they both kept laughing and he reached in to embrace her. Overcome with joy, he swung her around as he took in her small form, she was so light.

Hana’s arms wrapped around his neck as she was spun around the room, her giggles mixing with his.

Their embrace was cut short, however due to the knocking on PBG’s door.

“Uh,” the taller boy put Hana down, “come in?”

 Neither moved, though they probably should have as Paul’s eyes could not have gotten bigger as he stared at Hana’s arms around PBG’s neck, the later of which had his arms wrapped around the pink haired girl’s waist.

“Oh, uh, am I…. interrupting something?” Paul’s voice cut through a new wave of awkward tension as Hana and PBG quickly untangled themselves from each other.

“No!” both parties quickly took another step away from the other, blushing madly.

Paul nodded, “uhuh…. Well, I thought I heard Hana in here and was wondering if I could borrow you now?”

“Yeah, of course, sure,” she was babbling now, dang her lack of social skills, “ehm, bye, PBG. I’ll see you around?”

PBG quickly nodded, “oh- yeah, of course!”

Hana made her way to the doorway, taking a few steps before turning and embracing PBG briefly, “I’m really glad to see you again, PeanutButterGamer.”

“You too, Hana,” he flashed a genuine smile and Hana realized how much she had really missed it.

“Right,” Paul cleared his throat, breaking up any kind of a moment the two would have been sharing. As soon as the two had made their way out of PBG’s room and into the three boys’, Paul swiftly pulled up a chair for Hana.

“So, uh, what was that about?” he casually asked, as if her personal affairs were blatantly open for him to pry.

“Doesn’t matter,” Hana raised a hand to swat the issue away.

Paul let out a small ‘hmph’ and took a seat on his bed, “well actually, it kinda does. I… have a plan.”

“A plan?”

 “Yes, a plan!” He stood up from his brief sitting position and began walking around the room, speaking directly through his hands, “You see you and I…” he looked at her, “are going to pretend to date.”

The loud sound of his hands clapping together reassured Hana that she wasn’t dreaming this conversation, although she silently wished to herself that she was. “WABAM!”  
“Why on earth, would I do that,” she didn’t even try to hide her frustration, her voice bitting.

 Paul laughed, as if he was talking to a naive child who couldn’t grasp basic, everyday, concepts. He took a few steps across the room to show her a paper he had written all over, ‘ **_MASTER PLAN’_ ** definitely stood out at the top. The president maneuvered his hand to show her where to start, speaking her through it as he went.

 “Well, the reason people are paying you so much attention is because we haven’t answered the question of whether we’re dating,” his hand flew from the paper to his hair, “or we _have_ , but ‘no’ means the same thing as ‘no comment.’” His attention returned to the paper in front of her, “If we just answer the question properly, there’s no reason they’ll keep following you around! And,” he directed her to another step within the plan, “the campaign gets some nice publicity and you get freedom from our horrific student body!”

His face completely beamed with pride as Hana tried to make out what the rest of the paper said, where each step led. He had to be joking, right?

“Which is why it is matters for me to know what’s going on between you and PBG,” Paul turned his attention to her.

 Hana couldn’t find the words to completely describe what she was thinking at the moment, but she knew every word would be coated in shock and disgust. He was using her, using the feelings she almost possessed for him a few weeks ago, and twisting her into a campaign slogan.  

 She couldn’t deny that yes, Paul had certainly attracted her within her first few weeks of school, and yes, she had been thrilled to think she could possibly be going on a date with him, but after the events after said date, all feelings had been plunged into the bottom of the ocean.

“ _Paul,_ ” a faint whisper was all she was able to get out, her throat suddenly very rusty.

“Hana,” he was smiling.

 Yet if she rejected this idea, what would his next one be? How many ideas of his could she reject before she finally could make him stop? How many until he had no use for her and casted her away from the lunch table? From Normal Boots?

Her stomach turned, how could she even think about complying? But what would happen if she didn’t? She had promised to do what she could for the campaign... Paul was a good guy and she did trust him, despite the chaotic run-ins they'd had. He was a good guy.

“I’m not saying I will,” she let out a sharp sigh, “but if I _did_ , it would be on _my_ terms.”

Paul feverishly began to nod, “of course, we wouldn’t do anything that would make you uncomfortable. It wouldn’t even be a big deal, just a title.”

“Just a title?”

“Just a title.”

The election was in a month and a half. Just a month and half. That's a small window of time and then he would be out of her hair forever. A month and a half.

Hana took in a sharp breath, “I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” she was speaking to herself but it put a smile on Paul’s face, “okay, I’ll do it.”

“Hana!” he cried happily and crushed her form to his, twice in a day she’d been embraced by a Normal Boots jacket clad boy. “You won’t regret this, thank you so much, you beautiful, wonderful person!”

She already regretted it, “ _my terms_ , okay?”

“I’ll go tell Nick and Josh to put it in the newspaper right now,” he began to reach for his messanger bag and his ‘master plan.’

“Let me guess,” she exhaled lowly, “you’ve already written the article.”

She didn’t even notice that his attention was completely on her, “actually, Hana, I didn’t. I wanted to get your approval first.”

The corners of her lips tugged upwards at that, “it’s a start.”

She turned down his offer to walk her to her room, saying she needed a little break before they were officially “Asagao’s Power Couple.” He complied completely.

What had she gotten herself into?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! A reminder that I have a Hana/Paul oneshot called 'Warmth' that definitely takes place within the C+B universe if you wanna check that out.  
> I also have a brand new Asagao tumblr, Asagaovevo, please feel free to talk to me on there!!  
> Thank you and please leave a kudos and a comment if you liked it!


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